AIMS:

To study if established diagnostic threshold values for gestational diabetes based on a 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test can be supported by maternal and perinatal outcomes.

METHODS:

Historical cohort study of 3260 pregnant women examined for gestational diabetes on the basis of risk indicators. Information on oral glucose tolerance test results and clinical outcomes were collected from medical records.

RESULTS:

There was an increased risk of delivering a macrosomic infant in women with 2-h capillary blood glucose of 7.8-8.9 mmol/l compared with women with 2-h glucose < 7.8 mmol/l. Despite treatment, 2-h glucose of 9.0-11.0 mmol/l and > or = 11.1 mmol/l were both associated with increased rates of macrosomia, spontaneous preterm delivery, hypertensive complications, and neonatal hypoglycaemia. Adverse outcomes tended to be more frequent in women with 2-h glucose > or = 11.1 mmol/l than in women with 2-h glucose of 9.0-11.0 mmol/l.

CONCLUSIONS:

The risk for several maternal and perinatal complications increased with the diagnostic threshold for 2-h glucose. Large-scale blinded studies are needed to clarify the question of a clinically meaningful diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus. Until these results are available, a 2-h threshold level of 9.0 mmol/l after a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test seems acceptable.